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Port Elizabeth (English: Port Elizabeth; Xhosa: Ibhayi) is a city in South Africa, situated in the Eastern Cape Province. The city, often shortened to "PE", and nicknamed "The Friendly City" or "The Windy City", is located on Algoa Bay, and is one of the major seaports in South Africa. Port Elizabeth was founded as a town in 1820 to house British settlers as a way of strengthening the border region between the Cape Colony and the warlike Xhosa tribe. It now has a population of 1 million and forms part of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality. The city is in a friendship partnership with the Swedish City of Gothenburg and is a sister city to the American cities of Jacksonville, Florida and Palm Desert, California. Port Elizabeth Airport (IATA airport code PLZ, ICAO airport code FAPE) serves the city, but is not an international airport. International visitors to the city, one of South Africa's major tourist venues, must fly to either Johannesburg or Cape Town and then take a domestic flight to Port Elizabeth. In preparation for the World cup 2010 the runway is being extended with a view to accommodating international flights. A number of smaller facilities including Progress Aerodrome, Algoa Flight Centre and Sheltam Aviation are mostly used by civilians and student pilots as a training and recreational facility. Port Elizabeth has a harbour in Algoa Bay, and construction of a second seaport is underway. The newer international harbour at Coega will support an increase in the size of the city's industries and the addition of new industries. The city has a wealth of fine sporting facilities, catering for association football (soccer), rugby union, cricket, hockey and many other sports. Its coastal location also makes it a base for many watersports. Port Elizabeth is the location of the St George�fs Park cricket ground, which holds test cricket matches. St George's Park is also the oldest cricket ground in South Africa. Its official name is now Sahara Oval St George's. Port Elizabeth has planned the 50,000-seat Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium for the 2010 FIFA World Cup which will be hosted in South Africa. PE is due to undergo a facelift, with the current harbour, surrounding waterfront and historic city centre being upgraded before the 2010 Football World Cup in a way expected to make them a rival for the popular Cape Town waterfront.

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